


Talks and Chess

by totalnerdatheart



Series: A Familar Feeling [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chess, Gen, Teaching moments, a teacher believing in a student is such a great thing, part of a series, these two should have a great relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 05:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totalnerdatheart/pseuds/totalnerdatheart
Summary: “Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall states, surprised to see the youngest Weasley boy enter her classroom outside of class time. “Ms. Granger isn’t here at the moment-”“Ah, yeah. Hermione and Harry are with Professor Slughorn.” Ron interrupts, scratching the hair behind his head. He’s doing his best to avoid direct eye contact and McGonagall can tell that he’s nervous. “If you’re too busy I can leave.”“Not to busy at all Ronald,” McGonagall says in a gentle tone, gestures for him to sit across from her. “I was actually thinking of maybe enjoying a game of chess.”





	Talks and Chess

**Author's Note:**

> this is one in a series of shorts that I'm trying out to get back into writing, more to come in the universe as I go

“Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall states, surprised to see the youngest Weasley boy enter her classroom outside of class time. “Ms. Granger isn’t here at the moment-” 

“Ah, yeah. Hermione and Harry are with Professor Slughorn.” Ron interrupts, scratching the hair behind his head. He’s doing his best to avoid direct eye contact and McGonagall can tell that he’s nervous. “If you’re too busy I can leave.”

“Not to busy at all Ronald,” McGonagall says in a gentle tone, gestures for him to sit across from her. “I was actually thinking of maybe enjoying a game of chess.” 

“That would be wick- nice. That would be nice.” Ron says and sits down. He’s already a little more relaxed from when they first started and although he was a surprise to see, McGonagall is enjoying Ron’s company. 

They settle into their game and have small talk about what’s been going on in Ron’s classes. He’s obviously here for something else and McGonagall is waiting for Ron to find himself comfortable enough to talk about what's on his mind.

“So um- remember when we learned about animagi and were creatures?” Ron asks, moving his pawn across the board. McGonagall remembers the lesson, it’s usually one of the ones that her students are more engaged in. 

“Yes,” She says, taking out one of Ron’s pieces with her knight. “I’m hoping this conversation isn’t going to lead to me having to contact your parents or the authorities?” 

“No!” Ron replies loudly, then clears his throat, the tips of his ears turning red. “I ah - I just wanted to talk more about familiars.” His voice grows quiet near the end and McGonagall can understand why considering the controversy behind the subject. 

“Well,” McGonagall states, trying to find her words. She knows the boy in front of her and she can sort out what he might be thinking. “Familiars are a subject that I am most qualified to talk about at Hogwarts.” She answers, keeping her voice even. She doesn’t want to make Ron uncomfortable, but she also doesn’t want to encourage the thoughts she knew he was having.” 

“Is it something only skilled wizards can accomplish?” Ron asks, again avoiding eye contact. “I know you taught us that only highly skilled wizards can be animagi.” 

“It’s more about discipline than skill Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall reminds him gently, not pleased with the way that her student was implying he wasn’t a skilled enough wizard. “And with familiars in particular, I find that it takes a lot of heart. To put so much dependency on another person is to have a lot of trust.” 

Ron is quiet for a few moments, thinking things over while they finish up their game. McGonagall wins but she has a feeling that if Ron was truly just focused on the game she would have lost. She has some things on her mind too of course. This wasn’t the first time a student came up to her with thoughts of becoming a familiar, but it has been a while since it was brought to her attention. It just wasn’t something that was taught in schools anymore, nor was it a path that many chose to do. 

“Thank you, Professor,” Ron says genuinely, a small smile on his face. He’s helping her put away the pieces to the board, repairing them with a quick spell and thanking them for a good game. He reminds her of his oldest brother Bill some days, with how careful he can be, though she wishes he had some of his older brother’s confidence. 

“Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall says before he leaves. “I know that Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger are talented wizards in their own right, but you have a lot to offer as well.” It wasn’t healthy that he was always comparing himself to others, and she’s sure he’s heard it before but she knew it was important to mention it. 

“That’s um- that’s… thanks.” Ron mutters out, embarrassment written all over his features. It makes McGonagall smile. “Goodgame Professor.” 

“You’re always welcome for a game of chess Mr. Weasley, I like a good challenge.” Ron smiles again and leaves the room, looking better than when he came in. McGonagall wasn’t quite sure what her student had planned, and she wasn’t one to jump to conclusions, but the difference in attitude from when he arrived versus when he left means that she must have done something right. 


End file.
